


Before Beacon, You Were Heroic

by landerson



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Amnesty has a lot but not the female character I craved, So sue me, Yeah I made an OC so Pigeon could have a girlfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 10:18:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19060657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/landerson/pseuds/landerson
Summary: Ned has always seen more in Duck than Duck sees in himself. One night, years before their monster hunting, the two solidified their respect for one another with a simple, kind act.A new Kepler resident, a haunted doll and men who are thoroughly unable to express their emotions. It's... The Adventure Zone.





	Before Beacon, You Were Heroic

Duck Newton made his way deeper into the Kepler trees, each sapling getting their own red tag to measure growth. In his adventures, he kept a measured pace, sure not to trample the undergrowth, never stepping in the same place twice. His footing and tagging was of such dire concern that he noticed a touch too late the young woman who passed in front of him. She accidentally met his eye and hesitated before running deeper into the woods.

“Hey, Ma’am,” Duck, a 35 year old recluce at this point was still figuring out the whole addressing women deal. Talking to them? Eh, it’s alright. Yelling at them in the evening hours in Kepler’s expansive forest? Not quite his forte, _yet_.

She looked behind herself to see him jogging after her at a distance, and she said over her shoulder, “Please, please--” Before she could finish her thought, she broke down crying. “No, don’t come near me!”

Duck kept a distance of 10 yards, speaking from his diaphragm as to not shout at her put have her hear a reassuring tone. In his townie accent, he hoped she would see him as a friend. _Everyone is friends in Kepler_ , as one high school teacher had tried to get as a registered slogan. “Ma’am, now I don’t mean to frighten you. I hardly mean to follow you, what with the mushroom growth we’re expected to receive this year, best never to walk in a straight line.”

Her guard was let down, but she asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m Ranger Duck Newton, after the bird, yes. It’s a nickname. Can you tell me your name?”

“I’d rather not right now.”

He looked her over, her trembling muscles in the crisp autumn air after her journey which appeared longer the more he examined her. “No problem. What brings you into the Monongahela National Forest?”

She shied away from answering.

“Pleasure or business?”

She wiped away at her face, tears having blotted her vision, “Both.”

“Plusiness. Ah yes. I’ve heard of that before.”

A cold breeze picked up down from the mountain, and the woman shivered.

“Nightfall is coming, and the most dangerous thing to you now is getting lost. I’m happy I ran into if I can help you get to safety.”

She swallowed her pride and said, “Okay.”

“I have a vehicle this way. Let’s get you a jacket and a coffee.”

She came to him, and they walked together side by side. She was younger than he anticipated, maybe 19 years old or younger with scraping across her face, tree-lashed and bramble-busted.

“With the convenience of the modern world, I can drive you a fair distance. Is there a home I can return you to?”

She shook her head, “Please no.”

“I’m not going to bring you somewhere you don’t want to be, but how long have you been out here?”

“A while. I started walking in the late morning.”

“You must be exhausted. Where is home, Miss?”

She sighed, “Wheeling.”

“And there’s no home there anymore?”

She shook her head.

“I have friends in this town who will help you. Kepler is small, and we’re not the type to go to city police. What can help you now is a good night’s sleep and some warmth.”

She sniffled and nodded, realizing she was coming down with a cold. “I go by Jennie, Ranger.”

“I’m happy Kepler can help you, Jennie. Again, you can call me Duck like the bird.”

“Dove?”

“Very funny. Very funny,” but he genuinely laughed, that slack-off smile that had made him popular.

When they reached the car, Jennie took shotgun and said, “Thank you, Duck. Truly, thank you.”

“Any time. Were you lost?”

“Not really. I was sticking to the edge of the forest, looking for something like a town. I believe I would have found shelter.”

“You would have found something. I believe you on that. But god, you would have been just on the verge of collapsing.”

“I was when I started. You know, the last car I was in, I was pushed out of.” She showed the scrape on her arm, fresh and barely scabbed.

“That looks like a nasty mark. We’ll get that dressed for you.” He started the car and headed for the main road.

The Cryptonomica came up in the distance, Duck thinking over whether to bring her to somewhere like Amnesty lodge, the name itself seeming apt for the occasion. But Ned could also be a safe harbor. Duck knew to trust him, had trusted him enough to hide his chosen weapon. But now was not a good time to think of Minerva.

Duck said as he pulled into the driveway, “I know it’s odd. But it’s a good crashcourse to Kepler.”

The store wasn’t empty. Inside were the employees: Kirby and Ned. But there was one customer. She and Ned were speaking in hushed tones

Duck looked at Kirby with a soft kindness, a smile at a baby in a stroller who’s just waved at you. Kirby was thoroughly displeased, but in that moment, he wasn’t about to draw attention to himself further. So he opened another soda and pored over the mothman article he had been reading.

Duck leaned against an empty display case and asked Ned, “What’s going here?”

“Something great,” Ned ushered Pigeon to show Duck what she had. “Ms. Wilson here was going through her mother’s attic and found this doll. Monroe, Connecticut can shove it.”

Pigeon showed off the most horrifying doll Duck had ever encountered, red hair and a decrepit face with the only thing left in tact a light blue eye. “Christ, that was in Vicky’s attic?”

Pigeon nodded, “She said it was her grandmother’s.”

Ned waved his hands with trained showmanship, “I believe this doll might now be you grandmother.”

Jennie gave a laugh that began with a “ts” sound, filling the room with a delightful noise.

With the noise, Pigeon looked over Duck’s shoulder to her. She asked, “You wanna see?”

Jennie shook her head, “No, I want to sleep tonight.”

Speaking for the doll, Pigeon mimed from the corner of her mouth: “Play with me.”

Backing away, Jennie burst out laughing harder. “Get that thing away from me.”

Ned saw the two young women becoming fast friends but began his speech, “Hello, young adventurer. You find yourself in the Cryptonomica, home to what tingles your imagination in the late hours. That creak in the floorboard, why its source may be in these ghoulish displays.”

“Ned,” Duck interrupted. “Can we speak in confidence?”

The two left the young women to introduce themselves, their flirting excruciatingly slow from a mile away.

Ned asked, “Who is she?”

“She’s Jennie. She’s a runaway I found in the forest. Literally, she was just running around. She won’t admit she was lost, but she was seriously in trouble. And I was hoping you could take her in while I try to get her situated in town.”

Ned nodded, “I have a guest bedroom I could open for her. Do you know how to do that for her?”

“Hell if I know, let’s just hope the bastard who pushed her out of a car doesn’t send a PI. Otherwise, I just want her safe in a home with a life.”

“She does seem to mingle well with the locals.”

“You did the same thing when you came to Kepler.”

“And now, I teach another young soul.”

Duck comically raised an eyebrow.

“I have a young soul. Edmund ‘Freebird’ Chicane.”

The two entered back into the museum to see Jennie and Pigeon giggling, already sharing a few inside jokes.

Ned said, “Jennie, my girl, what’s mine is yours. Please take the first room on the right.”

Jennie lit up and went to hug him. “Thank you.” She then hugged Duck. “Thank you so much.”

Duck shook his head, “You think I’d just leave you out there.”

She took a step back and nodded. “Kindness is something I hope to get used to though.”

From the other side of the room, Pigeon watched this forthcoming new young woman, and she knew she would kill a man to keep her in Kepler and safe. She made a mental note to return here whenever possible to check up on the young woman.

Jennie looked at her scratched up legs and arms and said, “Would it be possible to shower?”

Ned led her to the upstairs residence and showed her her temporary abode.

Meanwhile, Duck, Pigeon and Kirby hovered in the museum. Pigeon said, “I ought to get home. Tell Ned I expect my grandmother’s spirit to be protected.”

Duck laughed to himself, “Have a good night, Ms. Wilson.”

“Wait!” Kirby shot up. “Pidge. Can you give me a ride?”

Pigeon ushered him to the door, “Look sharp. Come on.”

He groaned again and followed her to the car, the two taking off.

Duck sat behind the counter, putting up his feet and groaning after a long day.

After a few minutes, Ned came down the stairs and saw the empty room. “Well, it is late.”

Duck barely held in a yawn from the revelation. “Is she okay?”

“She’s safe. I’ll take her to Mrs. Owens’s Thrift Store tomorrow.”

“Speaking of which, Sheriff Owens should know about her. Just to keep her safe.”

“That’s for tomorrow.” Ned went behind the counter and looked out the window to the faded evergreens and their autumnal glisten in the soft light of sunset.

“Ned.” Duck paused. “Ned, she could have died out there. So many other lost girls like her. We get their faces all the time in the ranger station. Her story isn’t rare. It’s only by coincidence that we found her.”

Hesitantly, Ned clasped Duck’s hand, “Looks like you saved a life. That’s what matters. By coincidence or providence, she was lucky it was you. Of course she could trust you”

Duck looked into Ned’s eyes and took a shaky breath. The clean cologne, that classic con artist style, his softer than life skin. There was little in life more painfully attractive than a person with a criminal record and a heart of gold.

Ned felt something too. It was something he hadn’t felt since running around with Boyd. That call to adventure, that heavy breathing and longing look. He felt it there, and it nearly choked him.

The two leaned forward toward each other, and Duck whispered, “Ned, do you feel safe here?”

“Safer than I ever felt I deserved,” the honesty in the statement brought Ned and Duck together, the two sharing a soft moment of soft, tangible eye contact. Both wanted to push forward, but their own insecurities got in the way. To feel each other’s breath was a closeness both men didn’t feel they deserved.

Moonlight filled the room, Kepler’s residents turning out for the night across the small, mountainside town. One by one, dying down like lazy lightning bugs, cupped in soft hands.

Duck too called it a night. In his lonely drive home, he figured there would be time for him and Ned. There was time then.

As his headlights flushed over the stretch of road back to his apartment, he saw the Cryptonomica go dark behind him, Amnesty lodge fully illuminated as that beacon of serenity, filling Kepler with divinity.

**Author's Note:**

> The last episode made me sad, so I wrote this to feel better. I still feel sad.


End file.
